


The Traveler's Girlfriend

by WendelinTheWriter



Series: Hermione Granger and the Snapeverse [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Butch/Femme, Established Relationship, F/F, Femslash, [DJ Khaled voice] ANOTHER ONE, snanger but lesbian, snanger but lesbian PART 2, there's two Snapes now
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-12
Updated: 2018-10-27
Packaged: 2019-05-05 14:45:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14620908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WendelinTheWriter/pseuds/WendelinTheWriter
Summary: After suffering an accident with a stolen time-turner and getting stranded in the past of another world, Hermione must return to her time and place and use her newly acquired knowledge to finish the Second War once and for all, with the help of a faithful but controversial ally.





	1. Chapter 1

_August 1 st, 1997_

Harry, Ron and Hermione rose their wands at the same time, as the “workers” that just went inside the café did the same.

“How did they find us in here?!” Hermione exclaimed under her breath as one of the two Death Eaters made his first move. He whipped his wand, aimed it at the table the three young wizards were sitting at, and said:

“Expulso!”

When the table disappeared with an explosion, the trio was sent flying through the air. Harry saw in the corner of the eye that Hermione spun around and collided, chest first, against a corner of a counter nearby. She started to fade, and then she disappeared.

Ron stumbled all over himself to stand up as swarms of spells flew in their way.

“Where’s Hermione?”

“Hermione’s gone!” Harry yelled as he ran to duck behind the same counter Hermione disappeared on.

“What we’re going to do without her?!”

Windows broke and furniture flew around and overhead. But then it suddenly stopped. Ron and Harry looked at each other, wide-eyed.

“They must be waiting for us to show ourselves! What are we going to do?” Ron whined. “Without Hermione? We’re going to die! Is she dead?”

“Ron, don’t be silly!” Hermione exclaimed. She leaned over the counter to peer at them with a vexed expression on her face.

“Hermione! I saw you disappearing! Right here! Where are the Death Eaters?”

“I’ve dealt with them, obviously! Come on up!”

Harry and Ron hesitantly stood up, wondering if it was some sort of trick, except it wasn’t. The two Death Eaters laid on the floor, on the feet of a figure Harry didn’t even had the time to properly see before Ron sent an Expelliarmus on his way.

He ducked, and Hermione put herself in between Ron and the man.

“Stop!”

Cautiously, the stranger stood up again. He was very thin, raven black hair curt short, with several piercings in one ear. Clad in black clothes, he reminded Harry of—

“Why is Snape’s younger brother here?!” Ron said.

“I’m not—” was going to say the stranger, when Hermione cut _her_ off:

“She’s with us. She’s… She’s my friend. She’s going to stay with us from now on.”

The strange woman rose a brow and sneered.

“Yes, I’m Hermione’s _friend_.” she said, glaring at Hermione. “Can we please talk of this later, when there isn’t a horde of Death Eaters after us?”


	2. Chapter One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's major spoilers here for the ending of the first fic of this series (that I didn't finish yet lmao). Basically, I'm trash with a huge case of writer's block, I'm writing everything BUT the ending of that fic.

“We can always go to Grimmauld Place.” said Ron.

“No, we can’t go to Grimmauld Place. Snape can get in there!” Hermione retorted, trying to place herself in the darkness.

Ron had taken out all the lights in the diner, so they could regroup, and think about where to go next.

“So what? He’s only one Death Eater, as opposed to the several ones out here!”

“Besides, Hermione, they set up spells against him before they left.” argued Harry.

Hermione wasn’t convinced.

“I’m really not sure. He’s only one, but he’s dangerous.”

“If he comes, we’ll deal with him.” said Serena, quietly.

“Serena, this is a terrible idea for more than just reason.”

Hermione received extensive training in what happened when you used a Time Turner incorrectly. One of the main precautions was to not try and engage with yourself from the past or the future.

She imagined how dangerous could it be for one to engage with themselves from another reality. How dangerous it was for the two Snapes to interact, in general, considering their shared monumental shortness of temper.

“We don’t need to stay there for long.” Serena continued. “It’s simply safer to think what to do next over there than over here.”

Fuck.

“Fine. You win. Let’s go to Grimmauld Place.” Hermione said out loud, and then leaned to whisper in Serena’s ear: “If he shows up, you _know_ you have to hide from him.”

“Oh, I know. He doesn’t need to see what hit him.”

“So, Grimmauld Place?” Harry pressed.

Hermione nodded, and then after realizing no one could see her nod, she said:

“Grimmauld Place. See you there.”

She held Serena’s hand, and apparated away to Grimmauld Place. Harry and Ron had just showed up on the front steps.

“Let’s go inside quietly.” Hermione said in a whisper, and then took the lead up the steps to open the door inch by inch, until she could squirm by, with Serena right behind her.

The troll leg in the front hallway was knocked down. Everything was quiet. Quiet like the Grimmauld Place never was while occupied by the Order of the Phoenix.

The sound of a page flipping in the foyer stuck out like a sore thumb in the dead silence.

 Ron gasped.

“He’s here!” he whispered, not quietly at all.

Hermione didn’t have the time to react as she heard familiar steps coming their way and Snape made his appearance in front of them, as surprised as they were once his eyes set on Serena. She was faster than everyone else:

“Imperio!”

Snape’s face went limp, as did his arms. His fingers held his wand loosely as he stared at them, seeing without looking.

Hermione couldn’t find it in herself any anger to berate Serena for using an Unforgivable. Again. Serena walked past her and went to stand before Snape. It was one thing to know they were extremely alike from her memory of Severus.

Another was to see both, standing at the same height. Same nose. Same way of walking. Same _wand_. Same everything. At least Serena’s hair was short.

Serena turned to face Hermione.

“You weren’t lying.” she said, eyes open wide.

“Hermione.” Harry said, then. “ _Who_ is she?”

Hermione sighed. She already knew it would be necessary to spill the beans as soon as possible. Otherwise, how would she explain her knowledge of where some of the horcruxes were? Or Serena? It was impossible to miss that she had something to do with Snape.

At least the age difference made them look more like siblings than actually the same person.

“I was going to tell as soon as I had the chance.” Hermione said. “I don’t know how to tell you this, but she’s him. She’s Snape. Listen, can we sit down?”

Sitting down in the dining room wasn’t more comfortable, not with the actual Severus Snape sitting down too, still staring blankly at the wall.

“Serena, could you please put him in another room?”

“Gladly.”

He marched away, leaving behind a pregnant silence. Both Ron and Harry had their eyes on Serena, who sat down with her arms crossed, looking the other way, uncomfortable with the whole situation. At least she didn’t go mad, nor tried to kill him.

“My time turner broke, right? You were right. I did disappear. For three years.” Hermione explained. “In what was only a moment for you.”

Ron stood up, not knowing how to react to the news.

“Three years?!”

“Yes, I… When my time turner broke, I travelled to the past. _A_ past. It was not our past. A few details here and there were different. One of the things that were different was that Snape is a woman. Serena.”

OoOoO

Serena couldn’t have prepared herself for the whole situation she found herself in. In a way, she knew there was no way anyone could prepare to see themselves from an alternative reality. At least she saw that coming a mile away.

But she wasn’t prepared to deal with people who didn’t already know what she was like. Even when one of these people was her godson, an older, scarred version of him.

“How… How did you come back?” Harry asked.

“A crack was opened when I accidentally travelled there. The crack grew bigger as time passed, and the Department of Mysteries found a way to send me through it before sealing for good.”

“And why did you bring another Snape with you? We already have one!” Ron said.

“Like I said, she’s my friend.” Hermione replied, stressing the word friend.

And there was that, too. Out of everything, what bothered Serena the most was being back to the closet, in a way. Sure, Hermione’s friends would pick up that she was a lesbian — if they didn’t already —, but they wouldn’t realize she and Hermione were a couple.

Especially because, as far as they knew, Hermione and Ron were a couple.

The agreement was that Hermione would tell them as soon as possible. Serena didn’t know soon that possible would be, all things considered.  

“It was right before the night your parents died, when I met Serena. I decided to keep an eye on her. I ended up learning… Quite a few things. Yes, she was a Death Eater, but she was loyal to Dumbledore. We… We managed to defeat Voldemort. She killed him.”

“This is too much.” Harry said, rubbing his face.

“I know. There’s a lot more to it… I’ll tell you two over time, though. It’s a lot. What you need to know for now is that, yes, Serena may be Snape, but she’s with us. She killed Voldemort once.”

“And if necessary, I will do it again.”

Hermione didn’t like Unforgivables. Sometimes, though, there was no other way. Something had to kill the Dark Lord, and Serena’s male version had to be dealt with. She was hesitant of using Expelliarmus in small spaces. The Imperius curse was the next best thing.

There was silence, for a moment.

“Then does that mean Snape is on our side? Severus Snape? The one that killed Dumbledore instead of killing You-Know-Who?” Ron asked.

“I’m really not sure. I said they were the same person, but that’s not entirely right. Of course, Serena could never be him. As a man, he could never have gone a couple of things Serena had to go through as a woman.” Hermione replied.

“Isn’t she basically a man, though?”

Serena shot him a glare and watched the blood leave his face as she leaned forward on the table to reply:

“Listen, _Ron_. I’m going to say this once, and if I were you, I’d remember it. I’m not a man. Not by a long stretch of imagination.”

She wasn’t very fond of her womanhood, actually. To be frank, she didn’t even mind being referred to as a “he”. Despite everything, though, she was a woman, and couldn’t stand being compared to a straight man, in any way, shape or form.

“Ron.” Hermione intervened. “Please, be respectful.”

“What? I’m just saying. Look at the way she dresses!”

“That doesn’t mean anything. You won’t suddenly become a woman if you put on a dress and a lipstick.”

That seemed to have gotten the point across.

“Fine, I’m sorry.”

“And…” Harry finally spoke up. “What happened to me? In that world you were? What happened to my parents?”

“They survived. Your mother did, I should say. Look, it’s a long story. I will fill you in small bits, I promise. Right now, we need to focus on what we’re going to do with Snape. I…” Hermione took a deep breath. “I think he’s loyal to You-Know-Who as of now, but there is a small chance that he isn’t. I want to talk to him. Just in case. If he is on our side, we’ll need his help. I know where some of the horcruxes might be, but You-Know-Who might have done more, and we need all the help we can get.”

“He killed Dumbledore!”

“He could have gotten you. And he had the chance, didn’t he? After that battle? You confronted him, and he didn’t do anything to you. I think he would have wanted to, regardless of who he is loyal to.”

Harry settled down on the chair, introspective.

“He could have hurt me.”

“There’s a lot more to him than we know.” Hermione said, finally.

Severus Snape ended up tied to a chair, gagged. Serena had not yet lifted the curse.

“Hermione, you’re going to talk to him first, right? I mean, you befriended him in another world. Somehow.” Ron remarked, eyes now glued to Severus.

“I think it will help if Serena is not in the room.”

“He already saw me. The harm is done. If we alter his memory, it’s likely The Dark Lord will notice and force everything out.”

“Alright.” Hermione agreed. “So, you can lift the curse. I guess there is not way to prepare for this.”

With a wave, Severus’ eyes went from vacant to nervous, darting everywhere in the room. He struggled against his binds, tried to speak, realized his wand was not with him. Then he looked at Harry, then at Ron, then at Hermione…

Then at Serena for a very long moment.

Then his eyes were back at Hermione, who was standing closer to him, and they were like that of a predator, watching his prey. He was _pissed_. Serena knew that, if such thing happened to her, she would be, too.

Ron coughed a little.

“Well, if he didn’t kill us before… He sure will kill us now.”


	3. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello peeps! I'm in a bit of a time constraint, I'll reply to the comments soon enough! Thank you all for taking your time to leave them!

Looking at Snape was painful.

By looking at him, Hermione was staring into the eyes of a twisted, dark version of someone she came to dearly love. Serena would never be just like him, even if everything went wrong, even if Hermione hadn’t shown up, but she could be a close match.

Even after three years, Hermione could still see in Serena the darkness resting. The anger, the resentment, waiting to pull her under. At least Serena’s wrath at the world seemed justified. Hermione wasn’t so sure about Snape’s.

“Ron, Harry, I think it’s best if you leave the room.”

“What? Why?” Harry interjected.

“Because… Remember that time when you looked into his pensieve and he nearly smashed a jar on your head?” Hermione said quietly, still looking straight at Snape, who narrowed his eyes.

“Yes.”

“This is going to be a thousand times worse.”

“And why does _she_ get to stay?” Ron said.

Hermione sighed and looked at Serena, arms crossed, one brow raised high. Two Snapes in a small space couldn’t ever go well.

“I’m not quite sure if she should.”

“You’ll need help to deal with him. Just a thought.” Serena said.

“But will you help, or will you make it worse? You had time to process the idea of another you. _He_ didn’t.”

“And if he is an actual Death Eater?”

Hermione raised her chin.

“Then I can stand my ground. He’s bound and wandless. Gagged, too, unless I state otherwise. He won’t be stupid to try anything against me, I hope. And, you know what? If I yell, or he yells at me, you can come in.”

Serena’s eyes slid to meet Snape’s.

“If you do so much as raising your voice at her, I’ll make you swallow your words, one by one.” She said, in the cold, low tone Hermione haven’t heard in years, approaching him step by step until she was facing him. “Is it clear?”

He stared up at her, his face unmoved.

This wasn’t going to end well. That said, Hermione couldn’t find it in herself to stop Serena on her tracks. She did fear Snape and what he could do — it was good to have a Snape of her own having her back.

“Alright, I think he understood that. If you three would please…”

Serena left first, with Harry and Ron trailing behind her. The door was left open ajar, but Hermione ran to close it. The boys would likely want to eavesdrop, however Serena wouldn’t allow them to. Even so, Hermione didn’t want to make things easy for them to hear what she had to say.

The point was, even if Snape was on their side, he was still difficult to deal with. And, of course, Hermione knowing almost everything there was to know about him through meeting another version of himself _was_ a breach of his privacy. Not that she was at fault; Serena willingly shared everything. He wouldn’t see it that way, though…

And, well, if there was someone she _didn’t_ want to tell about her dating Serena, that was him.

Hermione vanished his gag with a wave of her wand. She was standing at the other side of the room, back against the door to the kitchen, lips pursed.

“What kind of _trick_ is this, Granger?” he demanded, his tone dangerous, but contained. His rapid breathing and set eyes betrayed him: he was ready to blow up.

“This is not a trick. I’ll explain it to you in its due time. If… You answer a few questions.”

“ _What_ questions?”

Hermione took a deep breath and decided to cut to the chase:

“Were you ever in love with Lily Evans?”

A vein popped on his temple as his face grew red, his eyes narrowed at Hermione. He’d be yelling and cursing at her — if Serena had not spoken some sense into him.

“How…” he said through gritted teeth. “Do you know this?”

“So are you on our side or not? After her death, did you ever think it was useless to remain working for Dumbledore and decided working for You-Know-Who again?” Hermione shot, feeling more confident and pacing to stand in front of him.

“ _HOW DARE YOU...!”_

His anger deflated some when Serena marched into the room, this time without her jacket. She was quite the sight with her entire left arm covered by a tattooed bush of roses. The deep reds, greens and black lines obfuscated the scar of the Dark Mark. It took ages and a small fortune, but it had been worth the hassle.

“Took you look enough.” she said smoothly. “Are you on our side or not? Or did you turn cloaks a second time like a selfish coward?”

Honestly, Hermione thought the two together would be a terrible combination, however it rather seemed like Serena managed to intimidate him. Maybe because she had put him under the Imperio Curse with ease…

“I’m _not_ a selfish coward.” Snape hissed. “And who are you?”

“You heard Hermione. From my point of view, though, you are me.”

“Snape, I… I suffered an accident with a time turner. I stole one from the Ministry during the battle in the Department of Mysteries, just in case I needed it. But it broke, and I was transported to the past of another reality. In which there is a Serena Snape, not a Severus Snape. I met her and decided… I’d befriend her. Then I came to know… The whole story. With her help, I defeated You-Know-Who still in the First War.”

The blood left Snape’s face and he blinked several times as if he felt dizzy.

“How are you even here? With _her_?”

“Since I meddled with the events so much, the crack I fell through enlarged. The Department of the Mysteries had to intervene to close it, but they said, I could be sent through and return for good to my place. Serena wanted to come along, to help. She is not a selfish coward, either.”

Hermione remembered walking into the same café she had appeared after the accident, boarded up by the Ministry of Magic. The crack was not a physical, visible crack, but it was as if the two versions of the café were meshing with each other. It started to affect nearby buildings, too.

One of the first things Hermione noticed after the accident, was that the tiles in the one she appeared were yellow instead of blue. When she walked inside again after three years, the tiles were yellow one moment, blue the next. Sometimes, they were even green.

Snape scowled for a moment, in silence. Then he asked in a very small whisper, as if he didn’t want to be heard:

“What happened to her, then? To… To Lily?”

“We saved her.” Hermione replied, softly.

His eyes widened in surprise, but then he cleared his throat and his usual scowl returned. On the other hand, though, Serena’s stance softened.

“When we left Lily, she was the happiest she had ever been.” she said.

Snape looked at Serena in a moment of recognition.

“Were you—"

“Yes, I _was_. I’m a lesbian, obviously. I’m sure you must be curious, but no, she didn’t stay married to Potter. He died anyway, and even then, it was after they separated. She didn’t know he and Black swapped the Secret Keepers. When Hermione and I left, ten or so years ago, Lily was with Mary and they both took care of Harry.”

Snape furrowed his brows and Serena shook her head in annoyance, the soft moment gone.

“Yes, the Lily I’ve met likes women too. For all we know, the one you’ve met could have been bisexual and just didn’t live long enough to figure out. Who knows.”

“She wouldn’t—”

“Do you have a _problem_ with that?”

Serena’s voice had a dangerous edge to her tone that made Snape think twice. Yes, sure his lesbian version was open-minded; it became clear to Hermione _he_ had to be straight and never once came to consider not everyone else was. He could even be violently homophobic.

Well, Serena was violently progressive, and was not wandless.

He said nothing.

“I will take that as a no.” Serena said after a moment. “Well, now that we got that out of the way, what are we to do with you?”

OoOoO

Severus’ mind was still spinning from facing an alternative version of him where he was a tattooed… Lesbian. It was not that which bothered him the most, though.

If this Serena person was him, then why did she leave Lily behind? Severus knew he wouldn’t do that. He left her alone and never spoke to her again once their friendship was over, however he wouldn’t leave to _another dimension_.

It didn’t make any sense.

He barely had the time to contemplate over the question when his Dark Mark started to burn. At the very same moment, Serena winced in pain and looked down at her arm.

Granger looked too, and without a moment of hesitation, reached for it, her fingers grazing the sensitive skin of the Mark, making the female Snape hiss.

“Sorry, sweetie.” Granger said, studying the Dark Mark closer. “It’s… It’s back.”

It was not a prank.

Granger had brought along a female version of Severus. He watched carefully the way they interacted. The physical closeness, the look in his female version’s eyes… And then Granger had said it: sweetie. It rolled out of her lips so familiar that she hadn’t even registered it. 

“Kitten, I thought you were going to keep it a secret.”

No way.

Even though the Dark Mark burned in his arm, Severus went faint. Granger gaped at him with eyes open wide, drawing a sharp breath, as his consciousness evaded him. The room disappeared little by little, then all at once. 


	4. Chapter Three

“This is the worst thing that could possibly happen.” Hermione said under her breath as she held up Snape’s chin and tried to wake him up by lightly slapping his face.

“I didn’t think he was going to _faint_!” Serena replied, defending her usage of her favorite pet name.

Kitten was more of a joke between them. Hermione loved cats, but Serena was allergic to their fur. As long as they lived in a tiny apartment, they couldn’t have a cat, which prompted Hermione to greet and pet every single cat that came across their way.

It sounded very sexual, though. Which was three quarters of the reason behind Serena’s preference. Not rarely people thought of them as friends, housemates, rather than a couple; the fact two women could find each other sexually attractive and act on it seemed an alien proposition to many. She liked to remind others it was not the case at all.

“And he needs to wake up soon. I assume your Dark Mark is responding to You-Know-Who’s summon to _him_. Snape needs to be there to tell him there’s no one here.”

Serena sighed in defeat and vanished the ropes.

“Could you please hold him by the shoulders?”

“What are you going to do?”

“Wake him up. I can’t go in his place without Polyjuice.” Serena said, going down to one knee besides Snape and getting one of his arms. She unbuttoned his sleeve and rolled it up, to reveal the burning Dark Mark. The skin surrounding swelled up, and acquired a light tone of red.

Serena then pressed her thumb against the Mark as hard as she could.

The sharp pain jerked Snape back into consciousness. There were still some ropes holding him in the chair, and he struggled against them once more as the fact he was bound sunk in again. Hermione promptly let go of his shoulders and stepped back.

“You’re not me.” Snape said, disgusted, to Serena. “I would never leave Lily alone. I would never b—”

Serena cut in, sounding as disgusted:

“ _Betray_ her? She’s dead. And when she was alive, she didn’t want you. If she had remained alive, she still wouldn’t want you, and I can say that with great confidence. As for me not being you, the fact my Dark Mark is responding to your summon states otherwise. We can stay here and discuss this all night long, or you can respond to the Dark Lord’s call before he figures out something is amiss, and you lose your cover. Choose wisely.”

With that, Serena vanished the rest of the ropes. Both Snapes looked profoundly disturbed and repulsed by each other.

“Where is my wand?” Snape asked as he stood up and buttoned his sleeve.

Hermione took it out of her pocket and couldn’t even look him in the face when returning it. He couldn’t look at her face, either; he just left without another word. Once Serena and Hermione were left alone, Serena’s scowl deepened.

“He’s worse than what you told me.”

“I didn’t know he was still obsessed over Lily.” Hermione replied, somewhat shaken as well.

Albeit people often compared Serena to a man — even Hermione, at first —, she had a profound issue with men and some of their common behaviors. Such as not taking no for an answer.

The fact a version of her obsessed over Lily’s memories, disrespecting her even in death, shook Serena to her core. It was easy to see it by the way the blood drained from her face.

“You know what disturbs me more about all this?” she said.

“What is it?”

“If you hadn’t showed up, I wouldn’t be much different.”

Hermione wrapped her arms around Serena’s waist, resting her head on the taller woman’s chest.

“I wonder how you can love me, knowing what I could have become.”

“It’s just that… You didn’t. You’re someone different now. And I love you. If terrible things had happened to me, I would have become a terrible person, too.”

“I can’t imagine it.” Serena said quietly, kissing Hermione’s hair. “I love you, too. Before we go in… Can I ask you something?”

“What?”

“When do you intend to tell your friends we’re together? You said _he_ was the last person you wanted to know, and now he does.”

“I… I’m not sure. I’m sorry. This is not the right time.”

And Hermione wasn’t sure when would the right time be, at all.

“Then you have to be more careful.” Suggested Serena, though Hermione could hear the resentment in her tone.

Hermione tip-toed to kiss her entire face, then finally her lips. Her tongue parted Hermione’s lips and for a moment, the whole world ceased to exist around them.

“I’m going to break up with Ron tonight, though.” Hermione said, much to Serena’s amusement.

“Good. I don’t like to share.”

OoOoO

Sure the situation looked dire, but Serena had her spirits lifted until she and Hermione walked back into the kitchen… And were forced to explain they had to let Snape go.

“What? You let him go?” Harry exclaimed in a yell after Hermione relayed the news.

“He was summoned by You-Know-Who! If he stayed, it wouldn’t be plausible for him to claim the Grimmauld Place is empty! Serena and I confirmed he’s on our side!”

“How?” Ron asked.

“I can’t say. I’m sorry. You’ll have to trust me on this.”

Sure Hermione was the better person out of the two of them. Taking the risk of having the two of her closest friendships falling apart just to protect Snape’s privacy was an act of great kindness.

Even though Snape’s past had much of Serena’s own, she wouldn’t mind telling Hermione’s friends about it if it meant they would get off her back. Besides the possibility of Serena sharing the truth just to spite him.

Hermione wouldn’t do that, though, and Serena was trying to follow the example.

“And what if you’re wrong?” Harry asked.

“She’s not wrong.” Serena replied. “I had my reasons to defect, and he had the same reasons. That is all I can say on the subject. Severus _will_ tell the Dark Lord the Grimmauld Place is empty and we will have somewhere to be for the time being.”

Hermione sat down, clearing her throat.

“Which is convenient. One of the horcruxes is here. Or _was_ here, a decade ago.”

“What… What do you mean?” asked Harry.

“Like I’ve said, You-Know-Who was defeated. I found all the horcruxes he had made at the time and destroyed them. I can’t guarantee he didn’t make new ones, or that the horcruxes are still in the places where I’ve found them, but I have very strong leads on most of them, I think. R.A.B is Regulus Arcturus Black, Sirius’ younger brother. After replacing the locket, he left the original with Kreacher.”

A silence followed, with the two young men swallowing in the news. Serena leaned against the back wall, arms crossed. She was out of the fight for the entire hunt the last time. Although Hermione was certain her presence would be of great help, that was yet to be seen.

“And where is the elf?” Serena asked. “You said he served the Blacks here in Grimmauld Place. The place is empty, as far as I can tell.”

“I don’t know. He could be hiding upstairs while we speak. We have time, though. We’ll have to hide out here for quite a while until the dust settles.”

“Assuming Snape won’t give our location to You-Know-Who.” Ron added.

Hermione sighed, already exhausted to go through so much trouble just to be kind to someone who didn’t deserve it at all.

“Yes, assuming that.”

Harry adjusted his glasses better on his face.

“What about the others?”

“Well, now that’s the bad news. I’m assuming the Helga Hufflepuff cup is in the Lestrange vault, at Gringotts, which… Will be a problem to retrieve. Lastly, one of the horcruxes is at Hogwarts, hidden in the Requirement Room. Rowena Ravenclaw’s diadem. At least, that’s where I found it. Since Snape is the Headmaster of Hogwarts now… We can ask him to look for it and keep it for us.”

“I don’t think this is a good plan.”

“Harry, don’t be silly. He knows about the horcruxes, I’m pretty sure. Dumbledore trusted him a great deal. Getting Snape to keep it is safer than us sneaking into a castle packed full of actual Death Eaters.”

“Don’t you think you’re being a bit biased, Mione?” Ron argued.

Serena had to chime in:

“She’s not. Can we drop this subject? If he was out to get us, this place would already be swarming in Death Eaters, considering he left to speak with the Dark Lord several minutes ago.”

There was no argument against that fact.

But, to make things harder for Serena and Hermione, they overheard the front door opening. Everyone stood, put their wands at ready, and shot out of the kitchen. Serena was the first one, seeing that she was already standing; she was alert, though she doubted the intruders would be a swarm of Death Eaters.

Indeed. What she found was a short woman, with spiked bubblegum pink hair, wand pointed straight back at her.

“Who the _hell_ are you?” asked the woman.

“Oh. Oh no. Tonks. Hi.” Hermione said, appearing from behind Serena. “We’re safe. Don’t worry.”

What a nightmare. The first thing Hermione stated when the idea of Serena coming with her became a possibility, was that she could not reveal herself unless explicitly necessary. Hermione’s time travelling had to be a well-kept secret, one hard to keep and explain Serena at the same time.

Serena lowered her wand and turned to Hermione:

“Is there anyone else who is going to show up uninvited?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hermione and Serena won't break up ppl... There are two Snapes remember?

**Author's Note:**

> I'll finish the part one first lol, I'm just leaving this here for future reference whenever I get around finishing the first part!


End file.
